Simulation lab opens at Wainwright Health Centre

Space provides high-tech training to local RN students and healthcare teams

WAINWRIGHT – Local nursing students, healthcare teams and physicians at the Wainwright Health Centre now have access to a new, fully equipped simulation lab where they can practise clinical skills close to home.

The new simulation lab, completed earlier this month, offers a technologically integrated space that can mimic a hospital setting, providing immersive learning with high-tech clinical equipment, manikins and an audiovisual system for remote observation.

“Our healthcare teams deserve access to the tools and training they need to provide the best possible care,” says Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services. “This new simulation lab in Wainwright will help nursing students, physicians and other healthcare professionals build their skills and strengthen patient care in rural communities.”

The Wainwright and District Health Foundation (WDHF) provided approximately $250,000 toward the purchase of the trailer and its conversion into a dedicated simulation lab space.

“It’s great to see this lab accessible to rural students in Wainwright. This space strengthens local healthcare education and empowers our community by ensuring healthcare teams and future nurses have the opportunity to train right here at home,” says Garth Rowswell, MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright. “This addition to our local hospital will lead to better patient outcomes and a stronger healthcare system for everyone in the Wainwright area.”

The use of simulation provides students in the University of Calgary Nursing Program (Rural Community Route) with opportunities to practise clinical skills and prepare for high-risk situations in a safe learning environment. It builds confidence and bridges the gap between classroom learning and real-life clinical situations, enabling students to learn from mistakes without causing patient harm.

Simulated lab scenarios can also replicate practical situations specific to the needs of different departments and programs across the hospital and in other healthcare settings.

“For students, staff and physicians to deliver the best care possible, they must practise, especially less-frequent, high-acuity medical events and emergencies. Simulation offers a unique and meaningful way to practise clinical skills for all types of scenarios in a controlled environment,” says Jason Laberge, Director of Human Factors and eSIM Provincial Patient Safety with AHS. “We’re incredibly grateful for the community’s support to fund the simulation lab trailer, and to our University of Calgary partners who donated equipment for the lab.”

“We are grateful for the support from the Wainwright and District Health Foundation and AHS,” says Dr. Catherine Laing, Dean, Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary. “Their continued commitment ensures students in the Wainwright rural route cohort have access to the same quality of learning opportunities as urban students.”

For the WDHF, helping bring the simulation lab to life was a natural fit with its mission of pursuing a higher quality of healthcare for the community.

"The Wainwright and District Community Health Foundation held its annual fundraising gala to raise the funds needed to purchase this ATCO trailer, with overwhelming support from donations within and around the MD of Wainwright," says WDCHF spokesperson Bill Lawson. "Thanks to the support of our community, healthcare teams have a place at the hospital to develop and apply what they have learned when faced with real-life situations. Supporting education like this ensures students, staff and emergency doctors are well trained to care for patients and families in our community."

Students in the rural community nursing route will use the simulation space regularly as part of their studies. The lab builds on the dedicated clinical learning environment established at the Wainwright Health Centre when the University of Calgary’s Rural Community Route welcomed its first cohort of students in 2021.

The University of Calgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university in this country’s most enterprising city. A leader in startup creation and research innovation – with groundbreaking discoveries in child health, quantum computing and water sustainability – we’re transforming bold ideas into real-world impact. Curious and determined, our 38,000 students are using hands-on learning to forge bright futures for all. Ready to take the leap? Start something at UCalgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca. Stay up to date with UCalgary news headlines on X @UCalgary. For access to UCalgary news releases, images and b-roll, and details on faculties and how to reach experts, check out our newsroom at ucalgary.ca/newsroom.

Alberta Health Services provides acute care services for more than five million Albertans at hospitals, urgent care centres and health centres across the province. Our mission is to provide excellent and accessible patient-focused healthcare for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait times, increasing access to surgeries and improving patient flow.